I get asked quite regularly about what I use to groom Cooper and I thought I’d share the tips and tricks I’ve learnt over the last couple of years along with my favorite tools to use in a Blog post. I very rarely take Cooper to the groomers any more and tend to do all his grooming myself at home, in fact I think I’ve only taken him once in the last year.

With the current weather being so hot it’s important to keep your pups cool but it’s also important to do it in the correct way for their coats. Cooper is a working Cocker Spaniel and his coat tends to get very pale blonde fluff which looks very cute but makes his ginger coat look quite dull. This is best removed by hand stripping as this removes the dead hairs that stop air flow circulating through the coat and helping to keep them cooler in the heat.

Mars Coat King – 20 Blade

To strip Cooper I use the Mars Coat King 20 Blade which was a recommendation from The Cotswold Spaniels a couple of years ago. I was honestly amazed the first time I used it as it removed so much fluff from Cooper.  It strips, de-tangles and removes dead hair from the coat without hurting your dog at all. However If they have any severe matts I wouldn’t recommend pulling this through and a trip to the groomers may be necessary. I use it pretty much all over Cooper but find it trickier down the legs.

You can see from the photos above that it really doesn’t take many strokes to remove lots of fluff from the coat. Just pull it down through the coat quite firmly and you will be amazed at how much comes out. The below photos are from the first ever time i used just the Mars Coat King on Cooper and you can see such an amazing difference, not to mention how much weight i took off him, 41g to be precise!

Comb

Any comb for teezing out matts is good and we still have Coopers old comb from when he was a puppy which he chewed on then and was trying to steal and chew whilst I was trying to take a photo of it. Another tip that was given to us about a year ago by Rolo Cocker Spaniel was to wind an elastic band through the comb and brush down his legs to help remove the dead hair from them.

Pet Teezer – Detangling

A more recent addition to our grooming kit is the Pet Teezer which is perfect for detangling your dogs coat gently without any tugging or pulling. I’ve always used Tangle Teezers on myself and even occasionally used mine on Cooper, so I was thrilled when they brought out a Dog version. This is now our every day brush helping to keep Coopers coat matt free, especially on those beautiful Spaniel ears that so easily tangle up. Another prime spot for matts is in the armpits where the fur can rub up through friction, especially if your dog wears a harness.

Scissors

The final tool in our kit is a pair of scissors to keep Cooper neat and tidy. I use these primarily on his ears, face, tail, feet, to trim the feathering on his sides and legs and very occasionally to cut out the odd little matt.

Grass Seeds

It’s really important especially in the “grass seed months” to be checking your dogs eyes, ears and paws for any grass seeds. Ensure you check between your dogs toes for grass seeds and to keep the fur trimmed short to prevent grass seeds from working their way in and even worse piercing the skin which can cause much worse problems. On a walk the other day Cooper started shaking his head every few strides and I knew something wasn’t right. The minute I looked in his ear there was a little grass seed right in the top which could have so easily worked its way further in. So please check daily for these little nasties.

One last little tip that we learnt from the place I used to take Cooper to was they are best groomed after having a bath and blow dry which I have found definitely works well for Coops.

I hope this helps you with any questions you may have about grooming your own spaniel. I am by no means a professional but these are tips that we’ve learnt through our Instagram friends and we wanted to pass them on as they have proven very effective for Cooper. Obviously you may prefer to take your dog to a professional groomers in which case I hope these tips may help to look after your pup in between visits.

Lots of Love,

Fi & Coops xXx